Emergency Hiring Strategies

May 19

Yesterday, I asked The Summer Camp Society’s members what last-minute May miracle they’re hoping to have happen this week. The overwhelming majority of the responses were people who needed more staff to run camp this summer (except for Mike, whose swimming pool is busted—my sympathies, Mike…).

So, I’ve come up with this list of 15 things you can do TODAY to try to get some last-minute camp staff applicants–with a concentrated effort of a couple of hours this afternoon, I bet you can check all of the items on this list:

Make a quick, initial online application form. Make sure it is very short, easy to do from a phone, and doesn’t require complicated things like reference’s phone numbers or a resume. You can always get those later–you need to connect with people and sell them on why they want this job!
Change your email signature to share that you’re hiring! Link to your easy application form in the email signature.
Direct message twenty former (now adult) campers who follow your camp on Instagram and ask what they’re doing this summer; encourage them to fill out your quick application form.
Call 5 involved alumni and say, “I’m looking for alumni to work at camp this summer, for as little as one week all the way up to the whole summer! Are you potentially interested in a ‘victory lap,’ and/or can you think of anyone in your network who might do it?”
Reposition one of your most critical open positions as an internship; post it in 3 online places.
Email all of your camper families to say that you’re hiring–bonus points of offering an incentive (like a camp tuition discount or free t-shirt) to families who nominate a candidate who signs on for the summer.
Text all of your qualified 2021 staff who are not yet locked in to this summer: Offer a returning spot; offer a short term spot; ask them to nominate 3 friends and share those friends’ contact info with you (text all the friends, too).
Check on regulations to see how many teenage staff you can add, and in what capacities. Contact high schools in your area to recruit teenage staff: Looking for lifeguards? Call the swim coach. Looking for cooks? Call the home economics teacher. Looking for assistant counselors? Contact people like the student council sponsor or the service club sponsor.
Think expansively about who you are recruiting–people of all ages make great camp staff! Contact your local service clubs like Rotary or Kiwanis to share that you are hiring camp staff of all ages in various roles.
Offer free or reduced price camp tuition for campers whose parents or older siblings work at camp–even if they only work at camp part time. Share this information with your camper base and local parent-teacher organizations, as well as on local parent Facebook groups.
Speaking of Facebook groups, join the following types–and encourage people to apply for camp as well as encourage parents to get their teenage and young adult children to work at camp:
1. Facebook groups for parents of students at a particular university
2. Local “moms”, “parent swap” or “buy/sell/trade” Facebook groups
3. Facebook groups for parents whose kids are in a particular sport or activity for which you need staff (horseback riding parent affinity groups, swim parent affinity groups, etc.
Put some big signs (homemade is OK!) on your camp gates or building that you’re hiring and you’ll do on-the-spot interviews! See who drives up to the camp office and chat them up when they arrive!
Reach out to applicant references and ask them to nominate others they think would be great camp staff – check out this great essay from Jonesy at Camp Cobbossee about how to do it!
If you have a board, call each of your board members on the phone. Explain to them you need their help filling the last couple of positions, and then text them a simple blurb with the quick inquiry form that they can share with people in their networks.
Go through your whole phone. Text everyone on there who you trust that either has a connection to camp or who might know someone who would consider working at camp. Send them the quick inquiry form and ask them to forward it to their contacts. People are happy to help.